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Grassroots Resistance to Trump

Rachel Maddow spoke about this last night (1/4/17) and I got this from Politicus in my e mail. She also had as a guest one of the co-authors of the document referred to here, Ezra Levin, a former Congressional staffer. Google Politicus if you want to subscribe to their e letter. I am going to get in touch with one of the Clinton organizers in my area who was coordinating the phone banks on which I volunteered. Maybe we can get something going here.

"If a small minority in the Tea Party can stop President Obama, then we the majority can stop a petty tyrant named Trump."

Ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the grassroots movement to resist the president-elect is picking up steam and spreading across the country.

One group of activists even released a highly detailed guide with strategies on how to effectively oppose the incoming president and try to limit the threat he poses to the country.

The 26-page document, titled ‘Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting Trump’, lays out a game plan for progressives and urges activists to give the Republicans who dominate D.C. a taste of their own medicine.

More from the guide:

The authors of this guide are former congressional staffers who witnessed the rise of the Tea Party. We saw these activists take on a popular president with a mandate for change and a supermajority in Congress. We saw them organize locally and convince their own MoCs to reject President Obama’s agenda. Their ideas were wrong, cruel, and tinged with racism — and they won.

We believe that protecting our values, our neighbors, and ourselves will require mounting a similar resistance to the Trump agenda — but a resistance built on the values of inclusion, tolerance, and fairness. Trump is not popular. He does not have a mandate. He does not have large congressional majorities. If a small minority in the Tea Party can stop President Obama, then we the majority can stop a petty tyrant named Trump.

The guide started as a simple Google document but has gone viral in recent weeks as the country inches toward a Trump presidency and many Americans are wondering how they can get involved. It covers a range of topics, like how to build local grassroots organizations and which ways are most effective in influencing policymakers.

It also lays out Tea Party strategies that liberals can borrow in order to effectively oppose Trump:

The Tea Party focused on saying NO to Members of Congress (MoCs) on their home turf. While the Tea Party activists were united by a core set of shared beliefs, they actively avoided developing their own policy agenda. Instead, they had an extraordinary clarity of purpose, united in opposition to President Obama. They didn’t accept concessions and treated weak Republicans as traitors.

The document continues:

Stall the Trump agenda by forcing them to redirect energy away from their priorities. Congressional offices have limited time and limited people. A day that they spend worrying about you is a day that they’re not ending Medicare, privatizing public schools, or preparing a Muslim registryThere is no question that the next four years will be challenging for progressives – and the millions more Americans who cast their vote for somebody other than Trump. But that doesn’t mean liberals should just hide under a rock until the next presidential election cycle.

There are things that can be done right now to minimize or prevent some of the damage that the incoming president promises to do. None of them involve keeping your head in the sand for four years.

If Trump and his dangerous agenda are going to be stopped, millions of regular Americans from all across the country are going to have to stand up and get involved. With a little over two weeks until his inauguration, it appears the wheels of resistance are rapidly spinning.

Other Politicus headlines:

Thanks, Obama: U.S. Auto Sales Hit Record High For Second Straight Year

The German people (Dem Deutsche Volk)could have stopped Adolf Hitler after the 1933 election, but he manipulated his office of Chancellor to get the President to retire, and he never filled the office that Hindenberg vacated. He also immediately put his brownshirts into the local offices, especially the Gauleiters and police forces. Once that was accomplished, the country was in his hands. The Trumists already control most state Governorships and legislatures. We are in deep ####.

The people who spoke were aided by an outdated Electoral College that was originally formed to prevent the succession of a candidate who was not fit. They did not fulfill this mission, being, after all, basically everyday people with a job that far outdistanced their intellect and their courage to act in an environment where they might be criticized. Hillary won the popular vote by more than 2 million votes. The people who "spoke" are not the majority. This is a travesty of our process. There is now a grassroots movement to work against the fascist legislation that Trump is already proposing. I am joining it. Hope you will too.

I'd like to check this out, certainly, since we are stuck with him and possibly all those appointees for 4 years. But shouldn't we talk about the hard-righter, libertarian, Republican agenda, rather than Trump's agenda? I don't think he has one, lacking an ideology. In fact, sometimes he does something I’m glad about (rather like Rand Paul does; even a stopped clock does something right twice a day).

the document says specific targeting is more effective than scattershot. One must contact their congressman and senators with specific instructions on pending legislation. Don't debate, state your objective. This a lesson in getting your point across in a way that will make your reps aware they will lose your vote if they don't act. The paper emphasizes that elected legislators have a very narrow view of their jobs; Most important is keeping it. Most frightening is being exposed as being ineffective. Don't be distracted by the big picture. Focus on the tjing being voted on TODAY. with specific